REV. DR. OILMAN'S 



DISCOURSE 



Ox\ THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF 



JUDGE LEE. 



r — ^A 




Glass F a 7_a_ 



Book. 



,L ^ 



DISCOURSE 

ON THE 

LIFE AND CHARACTER ^^^ 

OF THE 

HONORABLE THOMAS LEE, 

LATE JUDGE IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE U. STATES. 
Pronounced in the 

UNITARIAN CHURCH, CHARLESTON, S. C. 

ON SUNDAY EVENING, NOV. 3, 1839. 



BY SAMUEL GILMAN, D. D. 

PASTOR OF THE CHURCH. 



Preceded by 
A PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTION.S 

ADOPTED AT A PREVIOUS MEETING OF THE CORPORATION. 



PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQ,UEST. 



CHARLESTON : 

PRINTED BY BURGES & JAMES, 
EAST-BAY STREET. 

1839. 







13 



PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS. 



At a special meeting of the Corporation of the Unitarian Church 
of Charleston, held at the Church edifice, on Sunday, the 27th of 
October, immediately after morning service, the following preamble 
and resolutions were submitted by Dr. Whitridge, and unanimously 
adopted. 



The mournful occasion upon which we are assembled, is one of 
deep and abiding interest. It has pleased Almighty God, in the 
course of his inscrutable Providence, to remove from among us, — 
from the scene of his earthly labors — and especially from this 
Church, the Honorable THOMAS LEE. 

In the death of Judge Lee, his immediate family and friends have 
indeed sustained an irreparable loss — this Church a scarcely less af- 
flictive bereavement — and the community in which we live, have 
been called to mourn the sudden departure of a great and good 
man — a faithful public servant, and an exemplary Christian. One 
who, like a shock of corn fully ripe, has been gathered to his fath- 
ers, and in peace with all the world, in the enjoyment of a pure and 
lioly hope, has gone to his reward. 

Whilst we commingle our tears and our sympathies in condolence 
with the family of the deceased, it becomes us in paying this tribute 
of respect to the memory of departed worth, to bow in humble sub- 
mission to the will of Divine Providence, — and however severe the 
blow, to acquiesce with Christian grace and fortitude in the mandate 
of Jehovah ! and with becoming resignation, to yield a willing obe- 
dience to the irreversible decree of Heaven ! 

The happy influence exerted by Judge Lee in this society, from its 
first formation as a Unitarian Church in 1817, to the day of his la- 



mented death, will be long remembered — and the loss of it will be 
deeply felt by a mourning congregation. The benevolence of his 
character — his mild and pacific disposition — the suavity of his man- 
ners — and the charity of his soul, (especially towards those who dif" 
fared from him in opinion) — genuine fruits of heartfelt piety, — ren- 
dered him an ornament to the Church, of which he was ever a con- 
spicuous member. 

To these were superadded a quick perception — a persuasive elo- 
quence — and a mind of superior power, which always gave him pro- 
digious influence, whether at the Forum, in the Church, in the Halls 
of Legislation, or upon the Bench, — and this influence was invaria- 
bly exerted for good. 

In the cause of morals and religion, as well as in jurisprudence, in 
politics, and in the monetary affairs of a mercantile community, he 
was ever prominent. 

In the temperance reformation, he was the foremost of the most 
zealous advocates. He eschewed ardent spirits — and was a bold, 
uncompromising enemy of intemperance (the great scourge of ouJ" 
land,) in all its forms. Had his life been spared a little longer, he 
would have delivered, by appointment, lectures on this now very in- 
teresting and important subject, in some of the upper Districts of 
our State. 

The loss of such a man, in the midst of his multifarious labors and 
duties, one who was so highly endowed, and who was still in the en- 
joyment of a green old age, is lamentable indeed ! Therefore, 

Resolved, That we, the members of the Unitarian Church of 
Charleston, deeply deplore the sudden demise of our late venerable, 
highly esteemed and excellent friend. Judge Lee, to whom we were 
attached by the strong ties of affection, and to whom we owe a 
debt of gratitude. 

Resolved, That we duly appreciate his talents and worth — and are 
duly sensible of his many virtues and genuine piety, of his undevia- 
ting attachment and devotion to the principles of Unitarian Chris- 
tianity, and to the interests of this Church ; and whilst we revere 



liis memory, we shall ever cherish with the liveliest emotions, the 
recollection of his virtues, and hope to profit by the purity of his 
character, and by the brightness of his example. 

Resolved, That in testimony of our admiration of the public and 
private character — the intloxiblc integrity and moral worth of the 
deceased, and our gratitude for the labors and duties which he so 
faithfully performed, and the great moral influence which he so hap- 
pily exerted, — our respected pastor, the Rev. Dr. Gilman, be reques- 
ted to deliver an eulogium upon the character of our departed friend, 
on Sunday Morning next, at tlie usual hour of worship, and that the 
pews of this Church be thrown open to the public upon that occa- 
sion. 

Resolved, That whilst we participate in the general lamentation 
of the City and State, we sincerely condole with the widow and 
family of the deceased, in their affliction, and respectfully tender to 
them our heartfelt sympathy, under this dispensation of Divine 
Providence. 

Resolved, That we, too sensibly, feel the great deprivation which 
we have individually sufl^ered, and the great loss wiiich this Church 
has sustained, and that we will wear, 7i<)t the usual badi^e of mourn- 
ing upon the arm — but the genuine mourning of the heart, in me- 
mory of the deceased. 

Resolved, That a copy of this preamble and of these resolutions, 
be transmitted to the lady and family of the deceased, and that they 
be entered upon the pages of the Church Minute Book, by the Sec- 
retary. 

On motion. 

Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published in 
all the Gazettes of the city. 



FUNERAL DISCOURSE. 



Proverbs, x — 7. 
"The memory of the just is blessed." 

Refreshing indeed is the recollection of de- 
parted excellence. Death seems to consecrate 
and fix an unalterable seal on the virtues which we 
love and admire. They have now become our in- 
violable inheritance. We know that nothing 
henceforward can tarnish or impair them. So 
long as we beheld these virtues connected with a 
mortal, fallible man, we might feel a sense of their 
precariousness and insecurity. We could not 
predict, with certainty, their continued strength 
and lustre. But now — they arc beyond the reach 
of accident. Neither time, nor earth, nor change, 
can affect them. They are as fixed as the stars 
of heaven. They have taken their place among 
the imperishable treasures of our souls. The 
memory of the just is blessed. 

Penetrated, no doubt, with this profound and 
aflTecting sentiment of inspiration, you, my hear- 
ers, have requested me to appropriate a portion 
of the religious services of this evening, to a de- 
lineation of the life and character of one, who has 
long worshipped among you — whom you have 



8 

tenderly loved and revered — and whose place in 
this sanctuary will know him no more. 

The true and proper object of eulogy, I con- 
ceive, is neither to flatter the dead, nor gratify the 
living. Why should we lavish praises on the un- 
conscious dead? Far are they now beyond the 
reach either of our applauses or reproaches. Al- 
most equally futile is it, to trace out their biogra- 
phies, or to dwell on their extraordinary qualities, 
for the mere purpose of satisfying a busy curiosi- 
ty, or to indulge the fond vanity of surviving 
friends and admirers. No. We must not be led 
to our interesting subject, this evening, through 
any such man-worshipping, or man-admiring mo- 
tives. It is not to exalt, or blazon forth, an indi- 
vidual, that I interpret your recent resolutions and 
request. To us, the memory of the just is blessed, 
not because we happened to know him, and to be 
thrown into the same limited sphere of action 
with him — but because he himself was a noble 
representative of what is excellent and enduring in 
human nature. The memory of the just is bless- 
ed, not because we can call him by name, and 
remember the graces of his person, the energies 
of his intellect, or the virtues of his mighty heart, 
but because we see in him a new manifestation, 
a glorious revelation, of the Deity — an illustra- 
tion of the power of Christianity — an animating 
encouragement amidst the trials and toils, the 



darkness, embarrassments, and contradictions of 
life — a type of what we might, and ought, to be — 
a specimen of what man may yet be — a blazing 
light, to call forth, sustain, and direct, the pure 
and undying aspirations of our souls. — Such, as 
I apprehend, were the legitimate objects which 
you had in view, in requesting me to present to 
you, at this time, some fitting memorial of the 
late Honorable Thomas Lee. 

He was born in this city of Charleston, on the 
1st of December, 17G9 : a year which happened 
to be prolific of so many distinguished men who 
adorned the past and present centuries. He was 
thus near the verge of seventy years, at the time 
of his decease, on the 28rd of the last month. 
It may be worthy of remark, that about one year 
ago, when he appeared to be in possession of per- 
fect health and vigor, he calmly stated to me, in 
confidential conversation, the very strong presen- 
timent he felt, that he should not live much be- 
yond the limits of three-score years and ten. I 
state the circumstance as at least an interesting 
coincidence, and undertake not to decide how far 
the presentiment might have been casual, or how 
far it was an instance of his usual practical sa- 
gacity. 

His infancy and youth were exposed to the well 
known vicissitudes wkich marked the progress of 
the revolutionary war, and the early struggles 
2 



10 

of our republic. He may be said to have been 
born along with his country, and felt his way to- 
gether with her, up to fame and fortune, through 
various developments of intellectual and moral 
character. Thus he was an American in grain ; 
and the lover of our institutions might fairly and 
proudly point to him, as an indigenous specimen 
of what they were intended to produce. His 
father, who pursued the industrious and skilful 
occupation of watch-maker in Charleston, enter- 
ed among the foremost into the conflicts, expo- 
sures and sacrifices, encountered by the inhabi- 
tants of the colonies. This gentleman must 
have been distinguished for considerable energy 
of mind and character, since he was for some 
time a Commissioner in the American Army, and 
was afterwards appointed Colonel of one of the 
Regiments of South-Carolina. We also find his 
name in the list of that honorable band, who, for 
purposes of intimidation, were exiled to St. Aug- 
ustine by the enemy when in possession of Char- 
leston. The subject of our memoir was at this 
period about eleven years of age. His father 
had transported his whole rising family, for 
safety, to Philadelphia. To what influences the 
youthful Lee was exposed at that very obser- 
ving and impressible age, — whether he saw any- 
thing of the excellent society which then abound- 
ed in Philadelphia, or was engaged in pursu- 



11 

ing such an elementary education as the times 
would permit, or felt the pinching grasp of priva- 
tion and poverty, I have no materials whatever 
to determine. 

The next incident which I have hecn able to 
trace in his juvenile biography, is his attendance 
at the respectable classical school of Messrs. 
Thompson & Baldwin, in this city. This must 
have occurred not long before and after the 
peace of 1783, when he was about thirteen years 
old. Here it is certain, that he made sufficient 
proficiency at least in the Latin language, to 
serve as an auspicious foundation to his attain- 
ments in legal science, for which it appears he had 
an early instinctive propensity : for we find him 
only two or three years after, at the age of fifteen 
or sixteen, already a student in the office of an 
eminent lawyer, who still survives at a very ad- 
vanced and most honored decline, and who well 
remembers his youthful pupil, as one of the most 
promising and interesting of his time. He be- 
longed about this period to a Moot, or Debating 
Society, which numbered among its members the 
flower of the city, many of whom subsequently 
obtained hio;h distinction in the race of honorable 
renown. It was in this society, no doubt, that 
Judge Lee first developed and cultivated the ele- 
ments of that fluent, persuasive, and commanding 
eloquence, which afterwards so frequently enlist- 



12 

ed all hearts in its favour, prompted as it ever 
was, by a conscientious love of right, and clothed 
in the most captivating gifts of voice, language, 
and manner. Even in his early life, an opportu- 
nity was not wanting for its public exercise and 
display. The French Revolution, in its prelimi- 
nary stages, had commanded the best sympathies 
of the whole world ; and when intelligence in the 
year 1789 arrived, at Charleston, of the destruc- 
tion of that strong-hold of oppression and tyranny, 
the Bastile, a meeting of the citizens was sum- 
moned to express their congratulations on the 
event. Although but in his twentieth year, young 
Lee appeared with characteristic ardour, on this 
congenial occasion, before his fellow-citizens, 
and won the first leaf of that public chaplet, 
which continued to increase and strengthen for 
fifty years, and which was even on the point of 
acquiring new and verdant honours, when the 
venerable wearer was summoned, we trust, to re- 
ceive an infinitely more precious crown, that fa- 
deth not away. 

The six or seven years which he devoted to the 
study of the law, at a period of comparative boy- 
hood, sufficiently evince the original decision of 
his character, together with a deep-seated con- 
sciousness of his appropriate destination in life. 
Among his other accomplishments, he acquired 
so perfect a knowledge of the French language, 



13 

that he could, at any time afterwards, address 
with his accustomed ease and happy effect, a body 
of his French fellow-citizens, or examine a French 
witness at the bar, without an interpreter. 

In 1790, as soon as he arrived at age, he com- 
menced the practice of his profession under the 
most favorable auspices. The general difficul- 
ties and embarrassments of the country had been 
now surmounted ; the new government had ac- 
quired a stability which secured universal confi- 
dence ; commercial activity and prosperity every 
where revived : and Charleston partook largely 
of the happy renovation. Mr. Lee continued 
several years in very successful practice, at the 
same time riding an extensive circuit, in company 
with a few ardently attached friends, some of 
whom yet survive to bear witness to the delights 
of a connexion, which grew stronger and dearer 
through every subsequent and strange vicissitude, 
preservmg even its genial fires amidst the storms 
of party abroad, and beneath the whitening hair 
at home, until the hand of death brought about 
the irrevocable parting, and the warm tears of 
long tried friendship were poured into his closing 
grave. 

In the mean time, his imposing talents and fine 
qualities attracted the attention of his fellow- 
citizens, who, shortly after he commenced the 
practice of the law, elected him a member of the 



14 

State Legislature. In this capacity he served 
for several years, advocating, with especial enthu- 
siasm and effect, every measure which leaned to 
what is called the popular side. Yet I am assur- 
ed by those, whose opportunities and penetra- 
tion well qualify them to decide, that even in 
times of the greatest political agitation, he never 
was properly a party-man ; he never surrendered 
himself as the slave of any faction — but always 
preserved his independence untrammeled, and re- 
frained from pushing his favorite principles to a 
reckless extreme,* He was married in the year 
1792, and afterwards passed a few years in the 
country, but has generally resided in Charleston 
with his large and interesting family, on whom he 
conferred the most enlightened education that his 
opportunities allowed. 

In the year 1794, he was appointed, at the age 
of twenty-five. Solicitor-general of the State, an 
office which he discharged to universal satisfac- 
tion for about ten years, when he was appointed 
one of the Judges of the Court of General Ses- 

* During tlie highest excitement of the recent conflict between 
South-Carolina and the General Government, when many even of 
the most honorable members of both the opposing parties contri- 
buted to separate funds, for the purpose of purchasing votes. Judge 
Lee, although surpassed by none for a deep interest in the great 
questions at issue, nor for a readiness to incur pecuniary sacrifices 
in the promotion of what he deemed the righteous cause, resolutely 
refused to encourage a proceeding which he considered so unjusti- 
fiable. 



15 

sions and Common Pleas. This office he held 
but a very short time, being induced to resign it 
by some constitutional maladies, incompatible 
with the sedentary duties which it required. He 
was soon after appointed Comptroller -general of 
the State, and continued to discharge that office 
for twelve or fourteen years. Respecting his ser- 
vices in this department of public duty, perhaps 
no authority more satisfactory could be adduced 
than the late Dr. Ramsay, who rendered him, 
while living, the following testimony in his excel- 
lent History of South-Carolina — a testimony, the 
full truth of which I am not aware was ever in 
the slightest degree questioned. When speaking 
of the recovery of the State from her financial 
embarrassments and difficulties at the commence- 
ment of the present century, Dr. Ramsay remarks: 
"After five years faithful service, in which Paul 
Hamilton introduced the same order into the 
finances of the State which had been done by his 
illustrious namesake for the United States, he was 
honoured by his grateful country with the highest 
State office in his gift. Tiioii.vs Lee was ap- 
pointed his successor, who with equal jinnness and 
ability, prosecutes the same good work. From 
their exertions,'''' he continues, thus evidently inclu- 
dino; .TudjTo Lee in the same encomium with his 
meritorious predecessor, "from their exertions, a 
chaos of public account has been reduced to or- 



16 

der ; energy and decision infused into every de- 
partment of finance ; and the fiscal concerns of 
the State, recovered from disorder, are now in a 
flourishing and healthy condition." Dr. Ramsay 
also remarks afterwards, that the very delicate 
and difficult measure of adjusting the legislative 
representation of the people to their property 
and numbers, was effected by the preliminary exer- 
tions of Comptroller Lee, who reduced to one 
view the whole property of the State from nu- 
merous and complicated returns. The legisla- 
ture then adopted a new principle of distributing 
the representation, introduced and ably support- 
ed by Abraham Blanding. Thus, he concludes, 
"a real difficulty, which threatened the peace of 
the State, was compromised to general satisfac- 
tion, and the reform of the fiscal department es- 
sentially contributed to a reform of the constitu- 
tion, and the stability of the government." 

In 1817, Judge Lee was elected President of 
the State Bank in this city, an office which he 
faithfully and satisfactorily filled for the last 
twenty-two years of his life. A sense of his ser- 
vices to that institution has been publicly ex- 
pressed by the Directors, precluding any farther 
reference to the subject here. 

In 1823, he was commissioned by President 
Munroe, as Judge of the District Court of the 
United States for South-Carolina District. His 



17 

connexion with this office also ceased only with 
his death, after a punctual and assiduous perform- 
ance of its duties for almost seventeen years. 
Those who were best acquainted with his merits 
in this department, and best qualified to judge of 
them, have in a public manner already conferred 
on him the beautiful and comprehensive eulogy, 
that his "decisions were characterized by a love of 
truth, and his judgments were given in mercy; 
that he administered justice without respect to 
persons, and did equal right to the poor and the 
rich." — In addition to this high testimonial, it has 
been privately remarked by a competent observer, 
that Judge Lee exhibited a striking flexibility of 
talent in adapting himself immediately to the 
forms and phraseology and spirit of his juridical 
function, after the long disuse of legal habits to 
which his other duties had previously subjected 
him. Another, eminently qualified, assures me, 
that no Judge ever sat on the bench, who was 
more patient in listening to counsel, or more 
candid and open to every just impression, or who 
made up his judgments with more calm delibera- 
tion, or who would more gracefully surrender his 
deeply fixed opinions and prepossessions, before 
the light of reason and argument. And if I 
might venture, myself, another train of remark 
on a subject so alien from my sphere, I would 
diffidently observe, without presuming to pro- 
3 



18 

nounce on his legal merits either one way or ano- 
ther, that the published decisions of Judge Lee 
exhibited a most commendable perspicuity of 
style ; that he did something to free the profes- 
sion from the usual charge of being technical 
and pedantic ; that there was a happy neatness 
and point about his explanations and reasonings, 
avoiding both the extremes of saying too much 
and too little ; and that in one respect at least, he 
followed at no large distance the steps of the 
great legal luminary of our country and day, 
himself so lately extinct, by popularizing and ren- 
dering intelligible to ordinary capacities the sci- 
ence and mysteries of the law. 

While enumerating the public services of Judge 
Lee, it will by no means be out of place to allude 
to his exertions in the cause of the Temperance 
Reform. The time will come, when South-Caro- 
lina, and his whole country, will more vividly re- 
member and recognise his merits in this depart- 
ment of action, than even his fiscal and juridical 
services. In fact, the Temperance Association 
may now be regarded as one of the settled insti- 
tutions of our country, although no legislature 
has sanctioned it, and no political convention has 
enforced its paramount authority. And he, who 
takes a leading part in it, as did our deceased 
friend, without the least tincture of fanatical ultra- 
ism on the one hand, or of shrinking timidity and 



19 

indecision on the other, may be as emphatically 
pronounced a public man, as if he acted by the 
unanimous vote of a legislature, or could show on 
his warrant, the Great Seal of the United States. 
For he has God for his authority — his conscience 
for his charter, — and the advancement, good or- 
der, and happiness, both spiritual and temporal, 
of the community, as much his object and guide, 
as if he were the author of a whole code of en- 
grossed laws. It was therefore, I conceive, with 
peculiar propriety, that in your resolutions of the 
last Sabbath, you gave this feature of his public 
history a prominent place. Truly, also, might 
the Managers of the Young Men's Temperance 
Society, while recently bewailing his decease, ob- 
serve, that if his departure is a source of afflic- 
tion to other associations, it is profoundly and 
emphatically so to them. Judge Lee having been 
identified with the rise and progress of the Tem- 
perance movement in South-Carolina. Yes, to his 
lasting honour be it said, that with that far-reach- 
ing instinct of benevolence and usefulness, which 
was one of the constituent elements of his char- 
acter, he perceived from the very beginning, the 
vital importance of this cause to families and to 
states, — to fathers, mothers, children, neighbours, 
communities and nations. It was about ten years 
ago that he stepped fortii with a little band — long 
before the cause began to be in any way popu- 



20 

lar, — nay, when it was decidedly unpopular, — 
when it was thought the most legitimate object 
of wit, sarcasm, and reproach. All this he cheer- 
fully and calmly bore, both from high quarters 
and low, moving steadfastly onward to the end 
with an unshaken and devoted faith. 

The next circumstance in his history, to which 
I shall advert, although still less of a public na- 
ture, can yet scarcely be classed among the trans- 
actions of his private life. 1 mean his connec- 
tion with this Church. In the resolutions at your 
late meeting, it was declared, with equal truth 
and simplicity, that to Judge Lee we "owe a debt 
of gratitude." Perhaps few among us are aware 
of the full extent and bearing of that remark. 
It may be known to many, that in the year 1817, 
this Church had been long united with another 
in the city, so as to form with it one legal corpo- 
ration and one ecclesiastical body, even to the 
regular interchange of pulpits every Sabbath by 
the two acting Pastors. Few persons acquainted 
with religious history, would antecedently pre- 
dict that a connection like this could be indefi- 
nitely permanent. It must have been foreseen, 
that in the lapse of time, the harmony of the as- 
sociation, however complete at first, would at 
length be disturbed by personal partialities and 
prepossessions in favour of different Pastors, or 
by diflferences in theological opinions. Accord- 



21 

ingly, witli the year just mentioned, the period 
had arrived for both these causes of disturbance 
to operate with uncontrollable power. The two 
Churches were rent into an irreconcilable divis- 
ion, one party embracing the ancient Calvinistic 
creed of the Corporation, and the other adopt- 
ing those principles of Scriptural interpretation 
denominated Unitarian. The breach was still 
further widened by the fact, that one of the offici- 
ating ministers for the time being, Mr. Forster, was 
an earnest advocate of the last mentioned system, 
and had in a short time acquired a large number 
of adherents, being otherwise particularly accep- 
table as a preacher and a man. It thus became 
a desirable object of the Calvinistic party, to ex- 
change him for a clergyman of a different descrip- 
tion, and secure, if possible, the continued adhe- 
rence of both the Churches to their ancient creed. 
At this crisis. Judge Lee was found among the 
friends and followers of Mr, Forster, who pro- 
posed to the other party the terms of an amicable 
separation, and the future appropriation of each 
Church edifice, to the use of the denominations 
respectively. The proposition was for some tune 
strenuously resisted. Various discussions and 
meetings took place, at which Judge Lee was al- 
most the only prominent advocate of the side 
M'hich he had espoused. Single-handed, he en- 
countered four or five very able and active oppo- 



22 

nents, until at length both parties became convin- 
ced that there was no kope of future harmony and 
reconciliation, except by a voluntary and abso- 
lute separation. Our departed friend was Chair- 
man of the Joint Committee of Ten, who drew 
up and reported the articles of separation. "Im- 
pressed," say the Committee in their Report, 
"with the solemnity and importance of the sub- 
ject confided to them, and anxiously solicitous to 
meet the wishes of their constituents, they fre- 
quently and freely interchanged their sentiments, 
and now recommend the above measures as the 
most likely to tranquilize the Church, and unite 
in brotherly love and affection, all its worship- 
pers." Upon this recommendation the whole 
body acted, and the result may be perceived in 
the following extract from their minutes: "Charles- 
ton, 24th June, 1817. At a Church meeting held 
this afternoon in the Circular Church, present one 
hundred members and supporters, on the above 
Report from the Joint-committee being read, it 
was unanimously agreed to adopt the same with- 
out any alteration whatever." Thus terminated 
this severe struggle, and they who have since en- 
joyed the advantage of an edifice here, where they 
could celebrate the worship of Jehovah, and ob- 
serve the ordinances and institutions of Chris- 
tianity, according to the principles then contend- 
ed for, and which they have been led conscien- 



23 

tiously to adopt, may estimate the truth and force 
of the declaration, that we owe a debt of gratitude 
to Judge Lee. 

But this was but the beginning of our debt of 
gratitude to him. For twenty-two years he has 
continued one of the firmest and most efficient 
supporters that ever blessed and upheld a Church, 
Truly may we say, that a fair pillar has been re- 
moved from our temple. Unstintedly and un- 
shrinkingly did he throw his reputation, his influ- 
ence, his exertions, his time, his voice, his good 
wishes and his prayers into the ark where he be- 
lieved the truth was enshrined, and the best inter- 
ests of himself and mankind enclosed. Never 
doubting, never desponding, always conciliatory, 
always forbearing, he entered with zeal into ev- 
ery project which the exigencies of the Church, 
or the defence and maintenance of its principles 
required. A prominent and beautiful feature of 
his character was, to surrender peacefully and 
gracefully to the will of the majority, in matters 
where his conscience was not absolutely concern- 
ed. For instance, when it was proposed several 
years ago to procure an organ for the improve- 
ment and assistance of the choir, his private taste 
preferred the ancient practice of vocal music ; 
but as soon as he learned that an organ was de- 
sired by the congregation at large, his generous 
subscription was immediately ready for the pur ■ 



24 

pose. Nor did his interest in the Church rest 
simply in externals. He was as far as any man 
living from employing religion as an instrument 
of policy, or for the promotion of good order in 
society. He would have scorned so low a motive 
for its support. His religion too was infinitely 
removed from the mere negation, of which his 
views are sometimes thought to consist. His 
zeal was never inspired by the fact that he had 
made a party-matter of the cause, and that he 
must now support it at all hazards. He had 
repeatedly and seriously examined his religious 
tenets. They had entered into his heart and soul. 
They had become a part of the very man, mould- 
ing him to the will of an all-present God, and 
assimilating him to his meek and spotless Re- 
deemer. Their influence seemed almost to over- 
come in him the few infirmities inherited from 
our common imperfect nature, causing him to for- 
get, like a child, the quick resentments of the mo- 
ment, to forgive the injuries which he may have 
incurred, to bear with peculiar and unexpected pa- 
tience the attacks of the last oppressive disease, 
and to encounter the approaches of death with 
a firm, unwavering, and even triumphant faith. 
In some published remarks which he delivered 
a few years ago at a public meeting of the Tract 
Society in this Church, he expressed himself in 
the following words : — "The creed of my fathers. 



25 

Mr. Chairman, was Trinitarian ; and I had every 
motive to attach myself to and love that religion 
which they professed. 1 was brought up in that 
faith, and worshipped in it long after the period 
of manhood. I then found its mysteries perplex- 
ing and incomprehensible. The demands which 
it made upon my mind to yield implicitly and 
blindly to doctrines, as fundamental, which I could 
not understand, led me to calm and deliberate in- 
vestigation, which resulted in their rejection as 
not warranted by Scripture. I considered my- 
self, Sir, as an accountable being ; and believing 
that it was my sacred duty to use the reasoning 
faculties with which God has endowed me for the 
discovery of truth, and in a more especial man- 
ner of religious truth, I rejected the authority of 
men and councils, and sought for light and direc- 
tion where alone it could be found, in the records 
of Revelation. My mind. Sir, is completely sat- 
isfied ; and I thank God I have no longer any 
doubts or misgivinsjs." 

Such was the state of his mind and belief, yet 
combined with the most tender regard and the 
most entire respect for the conscientious views 
of all other denominations, when he became in 
the year 1824, almost sixteen years ago, a regular 
attendant on the administration of the Lord's 
Supper in this Church. His interest in religion 



26 

has seemed to increase with every succeeding 
year. Not long after the event just mentioned, 
his eldest son, a most pious and worthy member 
of this Church, died and was buried in the family 
cemetery in the country. One of his surviving 
sons informed me, that on the return of the family 
from the interment to the mansion, his father ad- 
dressed them all in an impressive and instructive 
strain of remark, which he trusted they never 
could forget. During the absence of the pastor of 
this Church a few summers ago, our friend took the 
lead in conducting the usual services of the con- 
gregation, and his impressive manner in devotion 
and reading, heightened as it was by his exemplary 
character, will long be remembered. About a 
year since, when it was announced that our Sun- 
day School required a few more teachers, he was, 
in his sixty-ninth year, among the first to offer 
his services ; and when a sufficient supply pre- 
vented them from being accepted, it still seemed 
to be his pleasure to enter his pew every Sabbath 
morning at an early hour, and listen to the les- 
sons and hymns of the children. When, a few 
months since, a vacancy occurred in the Deacon- 
ship of the Church, he cheerfully accepted the 
office, notwithstanding his advancing age, and 
probable infirmities. To his Pastor he was ever 
an invaluable friend, soothing his mind and sus- 



27 

taining his labours by frequent notes and letters 
of sympathy and kindly counsel, or by visits 
snatched from the hours of business. 

Shortly before his death, as if in near anticipa- 
tion of the event, while standing with a dearly be- 
loved relative in the cemetery of our Church, he 
pointed to a spot which he had recently purcha- 
sed, and said, "when I die, let me be laid in the 
centre of that square. It is the next square to 

my friend 's," whom he at the same time named. 

"We have never quarreled in life," said he, "and 
we shall slumber peaceably by each other's side in 
death." 

Does not this Church owe him a ^'■deht of grati- 
tude ?" Shall not the memory of the just be 
cherished as peculiarly blessed and precious, by 
every heart of sensibility among us ? 

I had intended to close this discourse with a 
general summary or estimate of Judge Lee's in- 
tellectual and moral qualities ; but the materials 
of his biography have so swollen under my hands, 
that I shall leave this unvarnished statement of 
his personal history, to make its own impressions ; 
to enforce its own conclusions, on your minds. 
There were one or two points, however, about 
his character, so very prominent, yet so very in- 



28 

trinsic, that I may be permitted to dwell on my 
subject for a few moments more. 

The first was his intense and deep conscien- 
tiousness. He had as strong a love of right and 
abhorrence of wrong as any man who ever lived. 
One of his most frequent inquiries was, Is such 
a policy or course of conduct right ? He would 
meet you in the streets with this question. He 
would discuss it with you at home. It haunted 
him like a messenger from Heaven. It was in- 
deed the voice of God. Would that individual 
and social man might more and more earnestly 
listen to it, like our departed friend ! 

The second of his characteristics which I can- 
not help noticing, was his open-handed and over- 
flowing benevole?ice. His life was a series of bene- 
factions. He seemed to know no value in money, 
but the good it might do to others. It was this 
quality that led him many years since to adopt 
the orphan child of a perfect stranger who died 
by the fever of our climate, and that at a time 
when his own numerous and increasing family 
made no slight demand upon his means. It was 
the same quality which prompted him to place 
considerable sums of money on the severely cold 
days of every winter in the hands of his pastor, 
with a request that it might immediately be dis- 
tributed to the suffering poor. At other times, 



29 

he would deposit amounts of money in the same 
hands, for any general purposes of charity what- 
ever that might occur. And again, he would ap- 
propriate sums in the same manner, under a feign- 
ed hand, but which was detected to be his, by in- 
advertent resemblances of manuscript, paper, and 
other circumstances. Doubtless, many are equal- 
ly acquainted with other instances of a benevo- 
lence, which appeared thus habitual and sponta- 
neous. 

It has been said of him, that he was of an in- 
dolent, or more properly speaking, an inactive 
temperament, unless roused to exertion by a 
strong sense of moral obligation. Much of this 
infirmity is unquestionably to be ascribed to the 
long periods of sull'eriug and disease which he 
endured in middle life. But if he were constitu- 
tionally inactive, it only heightens his merit, that 
he so often and so effectually overcame the pro- 
pensity, and was ready to act at every call, even 
of hopeless duty. Heaven bestow on society as 
many indolent members as it may please, like 
.Tudge Lee ! 

But at last the period drew near when he was 
to be called to a more solemn, yet at the same 
time a more merciful tribunal than the admiring 
or cavilling judgments of his fellow-mortals here. 
On the Sabbath before the last, he sent from his 
sick chamber to ask for the prayers of his Church 



30 

in his behalf. On the following morning, he de- 
sired to see his Pastor, who immediately repaired 
to his abode, and visited him every day till his de- 
cease. He found him calm, collected, firm as ever 
in all his religious views, though not disposed to 
dwell on speculative points of doctrine. Re- 
peatedly did he express his confidence in God as 
his merciful Friend and Father. He professed to 
receive infinite comfort from the language of 
sympathy and prayer. When informed that his 
numerous friends were anxious for his safety, 
"Tell them," said he, "that I am patient; and be 
assured, that if ever man felt humble, such is my 
feeling now." 

Judge Lee may be said to have died an enviable 
death. The very time that has taken him away 
was almost as felicitous as the many happy points 
about his own character. He has died in the 
fulness of a ripe and good reputation. He has 
not outlived his friends and admirers. He was 
almost borne away like Elijah in a chariot of 
glory, — for surely the afiectionate admiration of 
a whole community may be compared to the 
Tishbite's ascending car. He died before the in- 
firmities of age had dimmed his faculties, or 
rendered it a matter of question with the succeed- 
ing generation whether his fame were so well 
founded as his contemporaries represent. The 
young have known and heard him, and learned 



31 

from him. The middle-aged have been stirred 
by the tones of his manly and melodious voice, 
and have been prompted to high and virtuous ac- 
tion by his persuasion and example. The aged 
have witnessed his long, consistent, and honora- 
ble career. Could happier circumstances and 
coincidences have attended his death ? Yes, one 
thing is happier than even these. He died the 
death of a righteous man. "Let me die the death 
of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." 



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